Shankar reveals Rajinikanth was his first choice for Indian

More than a decade after making the super-duper hit Indian which starred Kamal Haasan in unforgettable dual roles, director Shankar has revealed now that he wrote the film’s script, which had the Indian Independence struggle woven along with it, with superstar Rajinikanth in mind. “Due to some reasons, I couldn’t work with him at that time and then opted for Kamal Haasan,” says Shankar.

Speaking recently to his fans, he said “Not many are aware that I first narrated the script of Indian to Rajini Sir. Rajini might have felt hesitant to go ahead with the script as I didn’t finalize the story and script and narrated it to thim at the very initial stage. When I completed filming of Indian and screened it for him, he hugged me at the end of the film and congratulated me.

“In fact, he even asked me why I didn’t narrate the script in detail when I approached him to ask whether he could star in the film in the lead role. When viewers watch the film, they can recall the ‘Rajini effect’ in many sequences…the sequence when the Indian Thatha would attack Nedimudi Venu using the pad on the easy-chair; after flooring Venu using varma punches, he’d take back his towel and put it back stylishly on his shoulder and would then set his hair back in place…

“When I visualized these sequences, I had Rajini in mind…However, Kamal didn’t know that the script was originally meant for Rajini and ultimately did a very fine job in the film. Even now, Rajini used to tell me that he didn’t regret having missed out in working in Mudhalvan (which was finally done by Arjun) but he surely regretted that he didn’t star in Indian,” concludes Shankar.